Stanton’s Rockwood LVP in color Vintage Harvest perfectly complements Hillside Wilton Woven, a 50/50 wool/polysilk broadloom made into a custom rug.

While there’s little doubt that hard surface floors are almost always dressed up with a rug eventually,  choosing the right rug, and closing the sale, can be a challenge.

“There has been research that shows consumers will purchase an area rug within a very short time after installing hard surface flooring,” reported T.M. Nuckols, president of The Dixie Group (TDG). “It doesn’t seem the consumer needs an incentive to purchase the rug, but I do think the specialty retail RSA has an opportunity to capture the rug sale if they sell the idea of a custom area rug during the hard surface transaction process. I stress custom because it will give the consumer a reason to buy from the specialty retail flooring store instead of standard sized rugs from discounters and mass merchants,” Nuckols said.

Milan by Fabrica, a TDG brand, is a patterned loop broadloom that makes a perfect custom rug.

Cross merchandising challenges

Even though Mohawk Industries offers a wide variety of area rugs, mats and broadloom as well as a full assortment of hard surface floors, ”Cross-merchandising (of rugs and hard surface) is difficult,” explained Bart Hill, senior vice president at Mohawk Home, a division of Mohawk Industries. “There is a co-relation between the purchase of a hard surface floor and that of a rug to put on top of it, but there is a time lag,” he said. “The consumer who just put down a ceramic, wood or resilient floor wants time to get used to the new floor. A retailer could give the consumer a coupon towards a rug purchase but the timing is not immediate. Sending a letter about three months after the purchase might help but it’s a hard loop to close,” Hill stated, adding, “It’s hard to do as a supplier because most hard surface suppliers and rug suppliers are different, and while a hard surface floor will most likely be purchased at a specialty store or a home center, most rugs are purchased online and in big box retailer showrooms.”

TDG, a supplier of area rugs and broadloom as well as various hard surface flooring, does not merchandise them together on the same display, according to Nuckols. “This is because most retailers have separate sections of their showroom for each surface. Hard/soft hybrid displays wouldn’t really fit in either section of the showroom. We have seen some hybrid displays in the market in the past, and based on feedback we heard, they did not seem to be very successful,” he reported.

Stanton cross merchandises all of its luxury vinyl with its Create A Rug program. “We merchandise all luxury vinyl boards and displays to show how a new floor installation would look with and without a custom sized rug,” explained Christine Zampaglione, senior director of marketing at Stanton. “This strategy has been proven to be successful and tells the consumer and the RSA a great story with the visuals showing how a space can look both ways. The addition of a custom sized rug really softens a space and adds texture, color and pattern to any area and inspires the consumer to also purchase a rug.”

On its website, in fact, Stanton pairs each luxury vinyl style with carpet to show how the two products complement one another.

“When the consumer clicks on the carpet style, they are pointed to the Create A Rug feature where they can actually make the rug to their specifications and request a quote from a local dealer,” Zampaglione said.

Design possibilities are endless with Karastan’s display which helps consumers find the right rug for them.

Pros & cons at retail

Making the connection between the purchase of a hard surface floor and an area rug well-suited for it has retailers in a quandary.

“We have tried to incentivize the rug purchase with an inserted coupon with the paperwork for the hard surface floor, but have had few results,” said Peter Messner, owner and president at Messner Flooring, Rochester, N.Y. “The purchase of a hard surface floor is more of a construction project and there is a period of time before a consumer is ready to decorate, which is how most think of rugs.”

“And, considering how busy we are now, especially with people out sick, the idea of follow up calls after an installation to entice a consumer in to buy a rug isn’t met with enthusiasm by sales staff,” Messner added.

Messner’s second store, a Flooring America location, is located close to a big box store that sells rugs for as little as $69.99. “I don’t have rugs at that store,” he said.

Messner has found several display units that do work to sell rugs. “We have a kiosk from Karastan that has a TV screen that gets a lot of attention from shoppers, who can play with it to design a rug. We also have two 40-arm rug displays. We’ve tried different things. There’s a Craftworks by Nourison display that has been a tremendous seller for custom rugs and Couristan’s new line is fabulous. It shows rugs and/or runners and has good lighting and customers like it,” he said.
Hadinger Flooring in Naples, Fla. is very, very busy, according to Susan Hadinger, CEO at Hadinger’s, a family-owned and operated business since 1931.

With more than 8,000 area rugs in stock, Hadinger’s promises to have the largest selection of rugs in southwest Florida. However, making that add-on sale after a hard surface floor is hard to do.

“We do give an incentive with a percentage off if the customer comes back and buys a rug, but few do,” Hadinger shared. “And, we do make calls after a floor is installed within a couple days, but that’s to make sure everyone is happy with the new floor.”

Hadinger Flooring offers more than 8,000 rugs in its rug department and provides a sitting area furnished with a rug to show how it’s done. 

Visualizing success

TDG’s Nuckols added, “I do like the idea of vignettes, particularly in retailers that sell furniture in addition to flooring. Anything that helps the consumer visualize the product and the end result is a good thing. It will give them more confidence in their decision and move the transaction forward.”

Actual vignettes take up a lot of valuable retail floor space, but beautiful photography can help.

“Inherently, consumers have a hard time visualizing a space when they are renovating or making design updates, hence the need for a designer to help the consumer bring that vision to life with renderings, mood boards and CAD drawings,” pointed out Zampaglione. “Any time you can offer visuals to represent how a space can look is beneficial for the consumer and designer alike.”

All of Stanton’s retailers that carry its luxury vinyl line are provided with board merchandising that pairs a recommended carpet style that seamlessly complements their luxury vinyl choice.

“This is an easy way to upsell the consumer at the point of purchase at retail,” offered Zampaglione. “It would be of benefit for the RSA or retailer to offer an incentive for the consumer making that purchase in the form of coupons or a package discount option.”